Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2010-11: Rushan Rafikov played for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl’s U17 team and represented Russia in two U16 tournaments. He scored 12 goals with 16 assists and had 40 penalty minutes in 21 games. Yaroslavl was third in the Moscow Region. Rafikov was +4 with 1 goal and 4 assists in five games during Russian championship play as Lokomotiv lost to Ak Bars in the quarterfinals.

2011-12: Rafikov played for Yaroslavl’s U22 team in Russia’s MHL and the club’s U18 team and represented Russia in three U17 tournaments. He scored 4 goals with 2 assists and was +5 with 14 penalty minutes in 26 games for Loko Yaroslavl and was was -3 with 1 assist and 25 penalty minutes in three MHL playoff games. Rafikov played 25 games, including five playoff games, for the Yaroslavl U18 team. He scored 8 goals with 9 assists and had 57 penalty minutes. In six games at the 2012 U17 World Hockey Challenge in Canada he had 2 assists with 10 penalty minutes. In a pair of Four Nations tournaments he had 4 assists and was +4 with 25 penalty minutes in six games.

2012-13: Rafikov played in 53 games for Loko Yaroslavl in his second MHL season and skated for Russia in the 2012 U19 World Junior A Challenge and Ivan Hlinka Memorial (U18) and 2013 U18 World Junior Championship tournaments. He scored 1 goal with 9 assists and was +11 with 38 penalty minutes in MHL play. Rafikov had 2 assists and 6 penalty minutes in four games at the WJAC. Playing for Russia’s U18 team he was +2 with 4 penalty minutes in four games at the Ivan Hlinka tournament and was +6 with 5 assists and 10 penalty minutes at the U18 WJC in Sochi. Russia finished fourth after a 2-1 loss to Finland in the bronze medal game. Rafikov was ranked 21st amongst European skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings and was selected by Calgary in the seventh round (187th overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft.

2013-14: Rafikov returned to Loko Yaroslavl for his third MHL season and represented Russia in the 2013 Subway Series in Canada as well as the U19 Four Nations Tournament in Russia. He scored 8 goals with 12 assists and was +30 with 46 penalty minutes as Loko had the top team in the MHL’s Western Confererence but were upset by SKA-1946 in a second round playoff series. Rafikov had no points and was -2 with 2 penalty minutes in 7 playoff games. He was -4 with no points and 2 penalty minutes in five games at the Subway Series and scored 1 goal while finishing +5 with 6 penalty minutes in three games at the Four Nations Tournament.

2014-15: Rafikov played for HK Ryazan in Russia’s second league, the VHL, as a 19-year-old. He played for the Loko Yaroslavl junior team in the MHL playoffs and was an assistant captain for the silver medal-winning Russia U20 team at the 2015 World Junior Championship. Rafikov scored 1 goal with 17 assists and was +7 with 16 penalty minutes in 35 regular season VHL games. He scored 1 goal with 2 assists and had an even plus/minus with no penalty minutes in five playoff games as Ryazan lost to Rubin Tyumen in a first-round playoff series. Rafikov was +1 with 1 goal and no penalties in two regular season MHL games with Loko. He scored 4 goals with 4 assists and was +8 with 22 penalty minutes in 14 MHL playoff games. In seven games for Russia at the World Juniors he scored 1 goal with 2 assists and was -2 with 10 penalty minutes. Russia lost to Canada, 5-4, in the gold medal game.

Talent Analysis

Rafikov is a talented Russian defender with an edge to his game who possesses an offensive upside and can generate scoring opportunities from the blue line. He continues to develop his overall game and is working to gain more consistency in his positional play. Rafikov has good puck moving skills and can carry the puck into the offensive zone to set up plays. He has the ideal frame to be an NHL defender but as with many young players will need to add bulk and strength to compete at higher levels.

Future

Rafikov is in his first KHL season in 2015-16, skating for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl under first-year coach Alexei Kudashov. With a veteran lineup in Lokomotiv he is in a battle for a regular spot but early season injuries to Mikhail Grigoryev and Vladislav Gavrikov have allowed him to see ice time to start the year. With a higher upside than many seventh-round draft picks, Rafikov has yet to participate in a development camp or prospects' tournament with the Flames so his NHL potential is a mystery at this point. His size and skill level suggest he can be an effective two-way defenseman in the future.

The Calgary Flames continue to move in a positive direction with their rebuild process as their prospects make an impact at the NHL level. The additions of Johnny Gaudreau and Josh Jooris have enhanced the team offensively, while Markus Granlund has provided reliable support in place of injured forwards.

Photo: Brandon Wheat Kings defenseman and 2015 prospect Ivan Provorov is currently second in scoring among WHL defensemen with 37 points in 35 games (courtesy of Dan Hamilton/Icon Sportswire)

Team Russia will arrive at the 2015 World Junior Championship with some momentum after that country’s solid Subway Super Series win last month. The team, led by Valery Bragin, back to the national team after the two-year run by Mikhail Varnakov, features the usual powerful offensive force, very good goaltending and suspect defense. The absence of Buffalo Sabres‘ defenseman Nikita Zadorov will surely affect the team, as he was thought to be a potential first-pairing defenseman.Read more»

Photo: Markus Granlund returns to the AHL in 2014-15, where he is expected to produce more than the 44 points he did last season. (courtesy of Chris Austin/Icon Sportswire)

It has been a long time since the Calgary Flames have had a deep talent pool like the current group developing at each position. The Flames were fortunate to add four first-round picks to their system in the past two years, which includes a pair of centers from Ontario in Sean Monahan and Sam Bennett, who became the highest pick in team history when selected fourth overall in the 2014 NHL draft.

Photo: Calgary Flames defensive prospect Rushan Rafikov is currently playing for HC Ryazan in Russia’s VHL, where he has two assists in five games (courtesy of Derek Leung/Getty Images)

It was a busy off-season for Calgary Flames prospect Rushan Rafikov as he first had to deal with visa problems which prevented him from taking part in the Flames’ prospect camp. Then he skated with Team Russia at the national team’s summer tournament in Canada, where he posted three assists in four games. Read more»

Photo: Mark Jankowski will need to use his increased ice time to show why he was worthy of being selected 21st overall in 2012. (courtesy of Fred Kfoury/Icon Sportswire)

With a healthy squad and key new additions, the Calgary Flames have a promising group of prospects ready to start the 2014-15 season. The organization has addressed the shortage of certain positions with the recent draft picks, and prospects have accumulated over the past few seasons. One could even argue that the current group of young players that includes such forwards as Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau, Markus Granlund and now Sam Bennett could form one of the strongest units in team history.